Birth Control Pill May Triple Risk Of Crohn’s Disease In Women

A study on the link between the birth control pill and Crohn’s disease has led a team of doctors to suggest that women with an already genetic predisposition to the chronic gastrointestinal disease may be three times more likely to develop the condition if they have used “the pill” for at least five years.The study, led by Harvard University gastroenterologist Dr. Hamed Khalili, followed 230,000 American women who were enrolled in the large U.S. Nurses Health Studies I and II from 1976 to 2008, Health News reported. Khalili and his team then compared the gastrointestinal health of women who have used the pill for long periods of time with women who never used birth control pills. As it turned out, of the original 230,000, there were 309 cases of Crohn’s disease and 362 cases of ulcerative colitis.Results showed that there was no link between oral birth control and increased risk for developing ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Crohn’s disease. “If you took oral contraceptives for more than five years, you have a three-fold increased risk of Crohn’s disease,” Khalili explained, as reported by Health News.

Although not confirmed, Khalili believed that it was the hormones inside birth control pills that explained the increased risk for Crohn’s disease. Previous animal studies have shown estrogen’s effects on the colon. As reported by MedpageToday, estrogen is thought to both affect the colon’s permeability and may affect gut immunity. Khalili also believes that excess amounts of the hormone can affect the “healthy” bacteria residing in our gut. Although the “morning-after pill” emergency contraceptive was not included in the study, due to the similar composition, Khalili suggested that women who use this drug may be at a similar risk, since it has even stronger doses of hormones than those found in the pill.

Although there seems to be a link between the birth control pill and gastrointestinal problems, Khalili was adamant that one did not definitely cause the other.

“What’s very clear is that Crohn’s is not caused by oral contraceptive use by itself,” he told The Daily Mail. “It’s a combination of oral contraceptive use among individuals with a strong genetic predisposition to Crohn’s.”

Crohn’s disease is a serious, incurable, and largely debilitating condition. Once more, the number of women experiencing this condition has inexplicably risen two- or three-fold in the past 50 years, The Mail reported. Khalili’s study cannot explain the overall rise in the number of Crohn’s patients, but his findings will hopefully be of use to women who have a genetic predisposition to gastrointestinal conditions.

The birth control pill is the most widely used form of contraceptive in the United States, but there are many more forms of birth control available and women should be well informed of the risks associated with each before deciding which is best for them.

Health News

The largest and most comprehensive analysis to date of the link between aspirin and cancers of the digestive tract has shown that it is associated not only with a significant reduction in the risk of developing bowel cancer but also of several other cancers that almost invariably fatal, such as pancreatic and liver cancers.

A team of researchers has developed specialized antibody-like receptor proteins that they believe could soak up the excess cytokines produced during a cytokine storm. This excessive immune response, sometimes seen in Covid-19 patients, can be fatal.

Working in a mouse model, researchers report that a single stressful event produced quick and long-lasting changes in astrocytes, the brain cells that clean up neurotransmitters after they've communicated information between nerve cells.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. More than half of NSCLC patients die after developing metastases. There are no tests currently that would allow doctors to identify patients where more aggressive therapy could reduce mortality. Researchers at Tulane University have identified a protein on tumor-derived extracellular vesicles that indicates if a NSCLC tumor is likely to metastasize, according to a new study in Science Advances.

The lens of the human eye comprises a highly concentrated protein solution, which lends the lens its great refractive power. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from clumping together throughout a lifetime. A team of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now uncovered the precise structure of the alpha-A-crystallin protein and, in the process, discovered an important additional function.

As a healthy heart ages, it becomes more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases. Though researchers have discovered that relaxin, an insulin-like hormone, suppresses atrial fibrillation (AF), inflammation, and fibrosis in aged rats, the underlying mechanisms of these benefits are still unknown. Researchers discuss how relaxin interacts with the body's signaling processes to produce a fundamental mechanism that may have great therapeutic potential.

A ketogenic diet produces health benefits in the short term. As the body burns ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel, tissue-protective gamma delta T-cells expand throughout the body, but negative effects appear after about a week, researchers found in a study of mice.

Aging is a dramatic public health issue in the face of the current demographic changes: the proportion of 60 and over in the world's population will almost double by 2050. In this context, a new discovery has just broadened scientific knowledge. Researchers shed light on the mechanisms of senescence, by identifying a key protein associated with aging.